CONSISTENCY

Article By Matt Nailor

One thing that prevents majority from reaching their fitness goals is consistency. Throughout my time working as a personal trainer I have noticed one key element that prevents clients from reaching their desired targets, and that is consistency.

You could have the best trainer, training program and diet plan in the world but without consistency you will never move from that start to finish of your fitness journey.

So we have the three main components of your exercise program to gain a little muscle and drop that unwanted fat.

Resistance Training

Cardiovascular training

Nutrition

If any one of these 3 is not performed consistently the other 2 components with also suffer and therefore so will your results. I’m not saying can all be perfect 100% of the time, that’s just setting us up to fail. However what we can do is follow our plans 85% of the time to the best of our ability, that’s a reasonable ask. The longer we stick with something the better we become, and the same for exercise programs, the longer you stick at it the better your results will be. So how can we be more consistent with each component of our plans?

Resistance Training

The main reason for resistance training is to increase our lean body mass, therefore giving us a better body shape in increasing our metabolic rate. We must maintain this to keep our metabolism on the rise.

To ensure consistency find someone to be accountable to, a coach or even a friend. If there’s someone waiting on you you're more likely to hit the gym, they will also keep you focused and motivated during your workouts.

Cardio

Another essential to keep your metabolism up and burn extra calories. Keep it consistent by making it enjoyable, you may get bored of standing on the treadmill, so why not use skipping, battle ropes or a weight self to make your cardio fun?

Nutrition

Nutrition is where most of us will be INCONSISTENT. We can all manage 2 or 3 days but that’s usually followed by 2 or 3 bad days. This becomes a vicious cycle and is one of the most frustrating things when all you want is results. Rather than choosing an extreme diet plan, use a nutrition plan that you can follow for the majority of the time using healthy foods that you enjoy!

No not cake and chocolate everyday but a blow out one in a long while ( 6-10 weeks) won’t hurt so long as you are straight back on the wagon the day after, moderation is key. Get in the habit of prepping your meals to help resist the urge of grabbing easy food on the go.

A consistent routine may take a while to develop but making it a part of your daily routine will guarantee you results in the long run.